Maisie finally smiled.
“He said you were the best receiver on the team even when you dropped easy catches.”
Cole put a hand over his heart.
Baked Goods
“That sounds like a loyal man.”
“He yelled at you a lot too.”
“That sounds even more loyal.”
Maisie laughed, and hearing that laugh in a stadium Gavin had always wanted to bring her to nearly broke me.
Cole asked for the football.
Then he pulled a marker from his pocket.
Physics
“I usually just sign my name, but I think this one needs something better.”
He wrote slowly across the white panel.
When he handed it back, Maisie read the message.
For Maisie and Gavin — keep watching together.
Her lips trembled.
She hugged the ball against her chest and
Live Sporting Events
started crying again.
Cole looked at me with mild panic.
People & Society
“Did I make it worse?”
I shook my head while wiping my own face.
“Those are good tears.”
Maisie nodded hard.
“The best ones.”
Cole gave her a signed pair of gloves as well, then arranged for us to stand near the tunnel when the team came out.
American Football
As players ran past, Maisie screamed until her voice cracked.
For those few minutes, her tears had nothing to do with the accident, the empty chair at home, or all the Sundays she would never have with her dad again.
Family
She was simply eight years old and ridiculously happy.
After the game, we saw Parker near the concourse.
Denise was standing several feet away on her phone.
Parker approached us by himself.
“I’m sorry again,” he said.
Maisie held the football close.
Computer & Video Games
“It’s okay.”
He shook his head.
“My mom shouldn’t have
done that.”
Maisie thought for a moment.
People & Society
“My dad used to say doing something bad doesn’t mean you have to keep doing it.”
I looked at her.
Gavin had said that about a completely different situation involving a broken kitchen lamp, but I decided not to ruin the moment.
Parker smiled.
“Your dad sounds pretty cool.”
American Football
“Yes, I heard him.”
“Are we going?”
Desserts
An usher was already walking toward us.
I laughed through my tears.
“Apparently we are.”
Denise stared straight ahead while the people around us applauded Maisie.
Nobody yelled at her or called her names.
